HEROES season 2 on dvd, or: how i learned to stop worrying and love maya

August 30, 2008

on tuesday HEROES season 2 came out on dvd. although it was a mediocre season at best, i decided to pick it up, if only to prove my unwavering love for the show. although, it does disturb me a bit that such a decline in quality came so abruptly. not until season 10 did the SIMPSONS seriously begin to falter (and for the reason i will not purchase any season beyond 10, in an attempt to trick myself into believing the series ended there). i paid an additional five dollars for the “special” edition which includes a miniature replica of takezo kensei’s mask. overall, a pretty neat little thing. it is made of metal and has some weight to it (aren’t all quality things heavy?). alas, it comes with no display stand beyond the little cardboard pyramid that came in the box. but even that sucks as it doesn’t properly hold up the mask. if anyone has a miniature helmet display stand, please let me know.

the pride of the bonus features is the alternate ending to the season finale and a little inside the alternate ending piece. they show what would have happened if peter did not catch the vial (hint: death). they actual have a decent amount of footage, as they were already filming episodes 12 and 13 before the writer’s strike forced them to change, so it kind of feels like you’re watching some crazy parallel universe (at least until they just begin showing storyboard shots with dramatic music).

the behind the scenes of the alternate ending is hosted by tim kring and two other random guys who are probably not that important to the creation of the show. i found this very enjoyable to watch, because they reveal a great amount of what would they originally planned for the rest of the story arc. i won’t give anything away, but i will say that they slated maya to save the world. now, i’ve been rather harsh to maya, and this new perspective makes me feel not the tiniest bit of regret for those electronic imprecations. hence, i’d like to issue a public apology to the fictional character of maya:

my bad.

as for alejandro, I will NEVER apologize.

the bonus features include a “sneak peak” of season 3. however, the segment features little beyond a few cast members on set for the first episode of season 3 talking about how excited they are to be working again. they also mention how great the season is going to be, even though they’ve only been allowed to read the first two scripts.